Understanding Virtual Technologies

In his latest book, Virtual Realism, Michael Heim builds on
and extends his writings on the cognitive and cultural shifts created by
computer technologies in the twentieth century by considering the
"new aesthetics" created by virtual reality (VR) technology. He
advocates "virtual realism" as a philosophy to aid us in a balancing the
role of VR in our lives, and begins by emphasizing the need for a clear
understanding of the meaning of the term VR. Heim differentiates
strongly between an understanding of virtual reality (VR) in a "weak"
and "strong" sense. He considers a separation of the two essential to a
true understanding of VR ("The point is not semantics but clarity of
thought about where we are going...". p. 4). Heim refers to the "weak"
meaning of VR as the common usage of VR that pervades everyday
usage and is hyped by the media. He focuses rather on what he calls
"the strong sense" of the term, which refers to VR as "first a
technology (and) secondarily an experience" (p. 6). As a technology,
VR is distinguished by the fact it is a computer-based immersive,
interactive, and information-intensive technology. Through these
three "I's" computers create the experiences of VR by simulating both
physical space or real environments, and/or mental space, or
telepresence.

In reading his extended definition, anyone with an interest in
computers and computer-mediated communication might find his
articulation of the meaning of VR as common sense. Heim, however,
seems to feel that accepting his conceptualization of the "strong"
meaning of VR is essential to an understanding of virtual realism; He
states that "understanding the strong sense of VR is the first step
towards being realistic about virtual reality" (p. 32). He goes on to
describe in some detail several applications of VR with an "empirical
bias" (p. 20) that illustrate the strong meaning of VR. These
applications include helmets or HMDs, networks and simulators, the
CAVE, BOOM, desktop VR, and VRML. While interesting as
illustrations of the computer-based and experiential nature of VR
technology, Heim neglects to cover the topics in enough depth to
interest the expert, yet he provides more depth than is needed to
effectively illustrate his point about VR in the "strong" sense.
However, a reason for this emphasis appears in the second chapter,
where Heim begins to deal with virtual realism. His usage of the term
is individualistic enough to necessitate a grounding in the accepted
technological uses of VR.

Heim's discussion of virtual realism is the meat of the book, with the
rest mere garnish. Virtual realism, according to Heim, is a need for
balance between the two extremes of "idealism" and "naive realism."
Those who welcome technology optimistically are idealists, while
those who reject it in favour of immediate experience and physical
reality are naive realists. Heim feels that these perspectives are "two
sides of the same coin, binary brothers" (p. 42) in that they both arise
from a "cyberspace backlash." His solution is virtual realism -- a
balance or middle path between "the idealist's enthusiasm for
computerized life with the need to ground ourselves more deeply in the
felt earth affirmed by the realist as our primary reality." (p. 43).

Heim's conception of virtual realism is one that deserves further
consideration as it is an important and timely one. The term "virtual
realism" itself does not follow conventional usage: the term is not used
in its conventional sense of "seeming" but rather refers to VR
technology. Heim implies that he chose the term purposefully and
carefully as language use is important to understanding. "The right
name illustrates and enlightens. .. [it] goes beyond utility" (p. 49.)
The term "virtual realism" appears to have been chosen to reflect the
balanced path between technophilia and technophobia, as Heim is not
advocating either simple realism or pure idealism. Rather, he
emphasizes finding a balance "that swings neither to the idealistic blue
sky where primary reality disappears, nor to the mundane indifference
that sees in VR just another tool" (p. 44). Such a balance will allow
for critical thought and communication in our acceptance of VR in our
world.

These thoughts are an important contribution to the field. Here Heim
displays the perception that distinguished The Electric
Language and parts of The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality
by giving technology a deeper relevance to the human condition and
considering its effects on human consciousness and culture.
Unfortunately, Heim does not develop in any great depth VR's
contribution to shifts in culture and human consciousness (introduced
in The Electric Language), nor to the changing human psyche
(introduced in Metaphysics ). Fortunately, his ten "signposts"
to virtual realism are an effective consolation prize. Some of these
signposts are:

Be clear about what VR is in the strong sense.

Acknowledge the new layer of reality and the complex
relationships with
computers it brings about.

While these signposts are consonant with a balanced and realistic view
of technology, they are particularly interesting because of their current
parallels. It seems that Heim's "balanced" view has inspired (or is a
part of, depending on one's perspective) an increasingly popular trend
towards a "realistic" view of CMC and computer technologies. For
example, a group that has gained much press recently is the Technorealists. Like
Heim, the technorealists (initiated by David Shenk of NPR, Andrew
Shapiro of Harvard and Steven Johnson of the e-zine Feed)
promote technorealism as, according to Shapiro, a "way to think about
technology that avoids both the extremes of high-tech doom and cyber-
elation." Like Heim, the technorealists formulate principles of realism
in their "Technorealist
Manifesto," some of which are remarkably similar to Heim's
signposts (For example, their principles include statements that the
Internet is not utopian, and that information is not knowledge).

That Heim's conception of virtual realism has already caught the
popular imagination attests to the need for a balanced view on the
place of technology in our lives. And Heim's basic premise is a strong
one: that we need to understand VR in its technological sense, and
then to accept the realism of the existence and impact of VR
technology on our society and culture. Heim develops the theme of
virtual realism in the remainder of the text as he considers some of the
"aesthetics" of VR. The variants of virtual technologies considered
here cover a wide range and include the visual aesthetics of art in the
world of VR; virtual world building through interactive design;
planetary ecology and photogrammetry; VR as a means to experience
nature; and experiences of alternate worlds and realities through VR.

The discussion of these variants of VR make up two-thirds of the text
of the book. Although Heim provides enough detail to inform the
uninformed, and provides information in a focused and interesting
manner, the strength of this material is largely the development of
Heim's conceptualization of virtual realism. When realism is seen as
an "approach that treats cyberspace as an actual phenomenological
world with its own particular kind of entities." (p. 218), then a detailed
exploration of some of the "entities" of cyberspace strengthens the
conceptualization of realism.

In spite of Heim's professing to take a "realistic" rather than a
technophilic or technophobic approach to VR, the sense one gets in
reading about these VR applications is an idealistic (though not quite
technophilic) one. However Heim does maintain a scrupulous
recognition of the computer-based immersive, interactive, and
information-intensive nature of the VR technologies involved
throughout, from the discussion of art world to alternate worlds. In
this Heim remains consistent to his own creed of virtual realism.
What distinguishes Heim from other "realists" (such as the
Technorealists) is his continued development and discussion of the
cultural and cognitive shifts brought about by computer technology.
This is evident in Heim's own definition of "realism" as the
"metaphysical theories that attribute priority to abstract entities" (p.
218). While a more detailed consideration of such metaphysical
theories would have strengthened the book, Heim still manages to
remain true to his philosophical roots, and thus provides a unique
perspective to what could otherwise be yet another book about
technology.